U.S. Citizen Children Deported to Mexico with Their Mother Amid Controversy
Two U.S. citizen children and their mother were deported to Mexico after being detained in Austin. The father had been removed earlier. Advocates criticize the lack of due process and express concern over the children’s welfare and the implications of such deportations.
In a troubling incident reported Wednesday, two U.S. citizen children were deported to Mexico alongside their mother. This alarming event unfolded last week when the family was detained near Dobie Middle School in North Austin. Cori Hash, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, provided details, stating that the family’s ordeal began when Texas Department of Public Safety troopers stopped them on April 30.
During the stop, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained the father but allowed the mother, who was not married to the man but with him for years, to proceed with their three children, aged 8, 5, and 4. While the eldest is a U.S. citizen, it’s confirmed that the two youngest also hold citizenship. The man was deported the day before the mother and children were removed on Wednesday morning.
Hash, who spoke to The Dallas Morning News, expressed concern for the family’s safety and declined to disclose their identities. “They had no due process whatsoever,” Hash stated, emphasizing that this incident exemplifies what she sees as the ongoing aggressive deportation policies in the current administration.
The News has yet to verify the citizenship status of the deported children. Meanwhile, officials from the Mexican Consulate in Austin engaged with the father during his detention at the federal building and learned from him that his two youngest were born in the U.S.
Efforts to reach spokespeople from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE in San Antonio, and the Department of Public Safety yielded no immediate responses. This incident isn’t isolated—there have been accusations that the Trump administration has previously deported U.S. citizens, amplifying concerns raised by advocacy groups.
In one notable case last month, the ACLU reported that three U.S. citizen children were deported to Honduras, highlighting that one of them was merely 4 years old and battling cancer. Following these claims, DHS asserted that these mothers had voluntarily chosen to go with their children, a narrative that many attorneys, including Hash, refute.
Hash added that although family members in the U.S. were ready and willing to care for the children, they were barred from communication with the detained parents. Michelle Lapointe, legal director for the American Immigration Council, pointed out a troubling trend where ICE complicates parental choices, leading to the exile of U.S. citizens.
The mother of the children, after her partner’s detention, had managed to secure an ankle monitor visit to ICE in San Antonio on May 2. Unfortunately, by Tuesday morning, when she went to the Pflugerville facility, her and her three children were detained. Hash recounted being on the phone with the mother during the ICE instructions that led to her children’s detention.
The family is being sent to Reynosa, a city just across from McAllen, Texas. This incident raises many questions about the treatment of families within the immigration system, especially regarding the rights of U.S. citizens.
This alarming situation sends shockwaves through communities advocating for immigrant rights and protection for U.S. citizen children caught in the crossfire of immigration enforcement. More discussions around due process and the treatment of families under such policies are likely to follow in the coming days.
This heartbreaking case highlights significant concerns regarding the deportation of U.S. citizen children and the overall treatment of immigrant families. The legal ramifications of such actions, especially in light of potential due process violations, raises urgent questions for advocacy groups and lawmakers alike. As these types of deportations appear to be becoming more frequent, it underscores the need for comprehensive immigration reform and a reevaluation of current policies surrounding family separation and deportation.
Original Source: www.dallasnews.com
